MORE AGONY FOR CHRISTIE
ELISE Christie departed the Gangneung Ice Arena on a stretcher yesterday after crashing out of the women’s 1500m short track semi-finals, but retained hope of outrageous Olympic redemption.
Christie headed straight to hospital for scans on an ankle injury which revealed no broken bones.
That raised the possibility that she could yet return for a final medal shot in her favoured event, the 1000m, with qualification on Tuesday ahead of a final on Thursday.
In a statement the British Olympic Association said: “Following the race Elise Christie was taken to hospital accompanied by the team doctor, team physio and team leader.
“She has had an X-ray on her right ankle which has shown that there are no broken bones. Team GB medical staff will continue to assess her over the coming days.”
Christie’s Great Britain team-mate Charlotte Gilmartin also crashed out of her semi-final, and later Christie’s boyfriend, the Hungarian Shaolin Liu, completed the unfortunate set by going down in his own men’s 1000m final, taking out two South Korean skaters in the process.
Afterwards Liu shed light on Christie’s condition, revealing: “I had a phone call and she told me she was fine. She’s a tough woman and I think she is going to be fine.”
Christie, who had previously crashed on the penultimate lap of the 500m final at the weekend, had tried to cut through to second place but took out China’s Li Jinyu, and suffered the indignity of being disqualified as she lay on the ice being tended by medics.
It extended Christie’s agonising and luckless run at the Games which began in Sochi with three disqualifications, and led to initial fears that she had suffered an injury which would bring a premature end to her third Games.
Speaking in the immediate aftermath of Christie’s crash, Team GB chef de mission Mike Hay said: “She took a heavy fall into the barrier.
“I’ve spoken to the performance director, Stewart Laing, who is in the ambulance with her on the way to hospital.
“It’s tough but right now it doesn’t really matter about the race or whatever, it’s really her health we’re concerned about and the scan will tell us.”
It is the latest chapter in a catalogue of Olympic misfortunes for Christie, stretching back to her luckless streak in Sochi.